them to wait and see what the legislature does, and then they can decide whether they
want to continue this in a much more aggressive manner and come up with a program
that works. Regarding the options given during the presentation, he would want to
exempt city businesses; they should have more coordination effort with the Tax
Collector and improve data sharing; and they should allow staff to come up with
something which would also include some sort of business services or economic
development.
Commissioner Dallari inquired regarding the benefits of zoning and land development
coordination, fire safety and management, and economic development and outreach,
what the data is that they obtain and where and how do they get that data if this
program went away. Ms. Johnson responded there would be a gap. They don't get a
lot of the data now. The Tax Collector has a new software program that his team
indicates the data will be stronger. If they were to eliminate BTRs, they would need to
talk about other programs. Commissioner Dallari expressed his concern about lost
data if BTRs are removed.
Commissioner Zembower commented they need to think about the reality that they are
collecting $310,000. There are Tax Collector staff hours and County staff hours to run
the program, and they are probably spending close to the amount collected. The
Division of Corporations in Tallahassee can give data. The Planning and Zoning
Department should be aware of every zoning change, every plan, and which areas of
the county are commercial and industrial, with the exception of home-based business.
It's a tax on business that is not being enforced. He commented commercial property
tax is more than residential property which should pay for the extra services and
impacts on the community. He believes cutting this will save the County money overall.
Vice Chairman Lockhart inquired if they know how much of the $310,000 is from
businesses in cities. Ms. Johnson responded that is only the County's portion. Vice
Chairman Lockhart inquired what would change for the County financially if the cities
don't collect for the County. Ms. Johnson explained four of the seven cities currently
collect on the County's behalf, and the cities take a $2.50 admin fee for collecting the
BTR. The remaining is sent to the Tax Collector. She does not know the impact of
those losses, but they could try to work with the cities on that. The Vice Chairman
asked if they are sending out reminders that taxes are due the following year and if that
is the responsibility of the County or the Tax Collector. Ms. Johnson responded they
are not sending out reminders, and it is not necessarily determined whose
responsibility it is. They would need to work with the Tax Collector. The Vice
Chairman stated she would like to have an estimated cost for what that renewal mailing
would be each year.
Upon Vice Chairman's inquiry regarding the estimated dollar amount that it costs the
Tax Collector's Office to collect and maintain these collections, Tax Collector J.R. Kroll
responded one of their big issues is they don't know the cost. There are three cities
right now that are still collecting on behalf of the Tax Collector's Office, and it is
statutorily required that it goes through his office to collect that payment. There are
interlocal agreements with the cities to collect the payment, but they were written
pre-internet so a citizen didn't have to drive across the county to make the payment.
The cities use different systems than his office, and they code everything differently.
There are approximately 800 transactions they are trying to go through right now, and
